Conventionally, hot and cold water are delivered to a sink faucet through hot and cold water lines including angle stop valve assemblies. Each angle stop valve assembly generally includes a supply pipe connected to the building plumbing which extends horizontally out of the wall and terminates in an angle stop valve. A supply line extends from the angle stop valve vertically upward to connect to the faucet or to faucet valve assemblies which regulate the flow of hot and cold water to the faucet. In most cases, the angle stop valve assemblies are located below the sink. A valve handle or removable valve key is used to open and close the angle stop valves to deliver the associated hot or cold water to the faucet.
Water from the faucet drains from the sink or basin, through a drain opening in the sink and empties into undersink piping. The undersink piping directs the water from the sink into the building's waste water system. The undersink drain piping is referred to as a "P-trap" drain, and "P-trap" drain assemblies along with angle stop value assemblies are most common sinks, both commercial and residential.
Current building regulations require that restroom facilities in a public building, such as restroom sinks, be accessible to all people, including disabled persons. Disabled persons, such as persons in wheelchairs, for example, must often maneuver the chair partially under the sink to access it. Since the angle stop valve assemblies and P-trap drain pipes protrude from the wall beneath the sink there is a risk of abrasions from the hard pipes or burns from the temperature of the pipes to the legs of the person confined to the wheelchair. Current federal and state regulations regarding undersink piping, most notably the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), require that the angle stop valve assemblies and P-trap piping of public facilities be covered and insulated so as to protect a person using the sink from being burned or from incurring injuries from impact with the piping. As a result of these regulations, various methods and apparatuses have been utilized to try and adequately cover and insulate undersink angle stop valve assemblies and P-traps. One of the earlier methods of insulation was to utilize loose foam insulation which was wrapped around the piping. However, wrapped foam insulation usually fit poorly and was difficult to secure resulting in wasted time and frustration by the plumber or other installer. Furthermore, the foam wrap, due to its poor fit and inadequate securing means, was not very aesthetically pleasing in its appearance. Additionally, the ribbed construction of a wrapped pipe leaves ridges and cavities which trap dirt and other bacteria under the sink.
Various other methods and apparatuses have been utilized to cover angle stop valve assemblies and P-trap piping beneath a sink as is evidenced by various patents in the field. However, besides often being ineffective, many of these other devices are still difficult and time consuming to secure and use, requiring various fasteners and other securing means to hold the insulation and coverings to the piping. Moreover, the devices may require various specially-sized pieces to fit the numerous sizes of fittings used in undersink applications. Specifically, angle stop valves are made in various lengths and sizes with the stem connection point where the supply line connects to the valve located at various positions along the valve length. The existing cover products for angle stop valves must be specially made to accommodate a particular valve length and stem placement, and therefore, numerous specialty pieces are necessary. This forces the installer to know exactly which piece is needed before installation. As may be appreciated, this is frustrating to the installer or plumber who has a certain dimensioned angle stop valve but a different dimensioned cover. Furthermore, it results in the installer having to carry numerous extra cover pieces of various sizes that may not be needed at a particular site.
Additionally, the angle stop valves are opened and closed with keys or handles of various shapes. Some existing insulation products leave the keys or handles exposed which is not aesthetically pleasing nor particularly suitable, as the uninsulated valve handles may become as hot as the respective valves. Other existing products cover the handles completely by encasing them with the angle stop valve. However, this makes them difficult to access and use.
Accordingly, there is a need for a simple and sanitary angle stop valve assembly cover and covering method which addresses the shortcomings of the existing devices and methods. It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide such a cover and method which addresses the shortcomings of prior devices and is still effective to prevent a disabled person from being burned or bruised and cut by the angle stop valve and water supply piping underneath a sink.